In a setback for his defense against federal payroll fraud charges, former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard has lost his demand to see employment records from the U.S. attorney's office. U.S. District Judge Hayden Head denied the request Tuesday because defense attorney Robert Jenkins had demanded the employment policies and personnel records under the Freedom of Information Act. That law may not be used to seek evidence in a criminal case, Head wrote.

Aaron Broussard, left, wants U.S. Attorney Jim Letten to recuse himself and his office from prosecuting him for payroll fraud.

Jenkins appears to be planning to show that the procedures used by federal prosecutors for employees were similar to the ones that landed Broussard in trouble. He said he would seek the employment records independently of the Broussard case.

Broussard and former Parish Attorney Tom Wilkinson face 38 federal charges each connected to the hiring of Broussard's love interest, Karen Parker. In October 2003, Wilkinson hired Parker as a paralegal supervisor after Broussard was elected parish president but before he took office. Wilkinson then erased the three-month gap in Parker's parish employment, from when she was working for Broussard's campaign. The move let Parker continue receiving longevity benefits, and Broussard allegedly rewarded Wilkinson with major pay raises.

Broussard and Parker, dating since 2001, married in May 2004 and divorced in October 2009.

Parker and Broussard's former top aide, Tim Whitmer, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the case and are cooperating with prosecutors. Broussard and Wilkinson are scheduled to face trial in October.

Tuesday's developments weren't all defeats for Broussard.

The judge allowed him to add attorney Charles Cusimano III to his defense team. Head initially denied Cusimano's hiring in April because Jenkins, Broussard's lead attorney, hadn't signed off on it. Cusimano's father is a justice of the peace and a former state district judge.

Head also gave U.S. Attorney Jim Letten until May 25 to respond to Broussard's request that local prosecutors step away from his case. Letten recused his office from the investigation of the River Birch landfill, a separate case in which both Broussard and Wilkinson were interviewed. The U.S. Justice Department took over that case after the outing of one of Letten's senior prosecutors, Sal Perricone, as an anonymous commenter on the River Birch case and other federal matters under the moniker "Henry L. Mencken1951" on the NOLA.com website.

Jenkins has argued that the case against Broussard and the investigation of River Birch are too intertwined for Letten's office to be allowed to prosecute his client.